Looking for binoculars and need help! Which Nikon?
April 17, 2010 by
Filed under Nikon Binoculars
Im looking for binoculars for star gazing.
I cannot afford a German brand and have narrowed it down to Japanese..
From those I really like Nikon and have narrowed to 2 models..
Do you guys know advantages or disadvantages of one over the other? I’m wondering why such a price difference..
Nikon 10×50 Trailblazer ATB
http://www.binoculars.com/binoculars/bird-watching-binoculars/10×50nikontrailblazeratb.cfm
Nikon 10×56 Monarch ATB
http://www.telescopes.com/10×56monarchatb.cfm
Thanks
If your arms can carry it for as long as 3hours without much strain go for the one with the larger aperture. At any rate, if you can not do this it is still best to stick to moderately sized aperture and those that the arm can carry around.
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/04/15/binoculars-for-astronomy/
Clear skies!
get a gooden
The 10×56 Monarch has more aperture and a higher apparent field of view for a slight weight increase (1.9 vs 2.5 lbf). I think I would go for the 10×56.
I would go with the 10×56 for the light gathering which is 25% more than the 10×50s. However, I would not buy binoculars sight unseen or more importantly handled. How do they feel, how well can you manage holding them still on an object? What kind of eye relief do they have? Can you use them with your eyeglasses if you wear them?
All those things can be told when you hold a pair up to your eyes and see what they are like.
If you cannot get to a store that carries what you are interested in, then be sure the store you buy from will allow you to return them within a reasonable amount of time. Watch for restocking fees.
That’s a difficult decision alright. Both appear to be a great set of binoculars. However, in the price vs performance war it comes down to price are you willing to pay $300+ more for 12mm of aperture? it can make a difference. At $149, IMHO those 10X50’s ought to give you many years of great service at 25% of what you’d pay for the other pair.
However, if you don’t mind paying the money the extra aperture would be very nice. They don’t add that much weight either, so, you should be able to easily handle them.